Pursuit of the Truth

Su Ming was naturally not so considerate as to do all the work himself and let others enjoy the benefits.

Xuan Shang and his group might not be the main souls, but under the black flame, all of the pain the body suffered would be divided by everyone inside. Because of that, the four of them would sense the pain incredibly well. That pain of their bodies and cultivation bases burning prevented the four of them from having any room to refuse Su Ming’s order.

A moment later, Su Ming lifted his right hand while sitting cross-legged on the Resentful Wei and struck his own body. With it, a black medicinal core appeared on his palm.

This medicinal core was not something to be consumed, but was a Fire Warding Core!

It was made of many precious materials and was something created only after Xuan Shang and his group had spent many years in collecting the materials required for it. Su Ming immediately crushed the core before flinging it away.

With it, the flames before him started letting out loud booms, and during them, the flames’ temperature was reduced slightly.

At the instant this happened, the Resentful Wei let out a roar, and its speed increased exponentially. As Su Ming circulated his cultivation base, he resisted the burns brought by the black flames.

His hair and eyebrows had already disappeared, and there were many signs of destruction on his body. Even if it was formed by the supreme treasure, it could not last for long under the destructive flames.

Besides, the faster a person traveled through the sea of fire, the worse the burns way suffered, but if they did not travel quickly and remained in place for a time, it would also become progressively worse for them. In fact, once the black flames erupted in a greater magnitude, then not only would the person be unable to step into the fifth kiln, even their life would be threatened.

As Su Ming moved forward and the body showed even more signs of falling apart, he sent another thought to the group. “One isn’t enough! Bring them all out!”

Xuan Shang hesitated for a moment before saying, “But-but if we use up all of them, how are we supposed to rush out of the sea of fire when we want to go back?”

“If we can’t even get in, then why even mention returning?” Su Ming did not slow down. Zhu You Cai, Flame Fiends’ Progenitor, and the white-robed teenager had already widened the distance between him and them.

While speaking, Su Ming struck his body with his right hand again. This time, five Fire Warding Cores appeared. Once he crushed all of them and swung the powder forward, the temperature of the flames in front of him were instantly reduced for a moment. His speed increased endlessly, and in an instant, he covered a lot of ground.

Within a moment, he was already side by side with the white-robed teenager, who was the last among the three. The white-robed teenager looked at Su Ming, and a flash of surprise appeared on his face. He did not expect that Su Ming would be able to catch up.

“I don’t have anymore! There were only six!” Xuan Shang immediately sent this thought forward with anxiety in his voice. Clearly, even if he did not tell the truth, he would only have at most about one or two of those cores left.

Su Ming did not pressure him too much. He did not speak, but as a brilliant sparkle shone in his eyes, a resolute look appeared on his face. He could not stay for much longer in the sea of fire, or else his body created by the supreme treasure would shatter.

“Resentful Wei, move at full speed, don’t bother about me!”

Once he sent this thought to the black horse, all six of the Resentful Wei’s eyes shone at the same time, and they let out a roar together. This roar caused the expression of the white-robed teenager to change, and even Zhu You Cai and Flame Fiends’ Progenitor were not unaffected. At that instant, the black horse’s speed increased without comparison right before their eyes.

As it rushed forward, it surpassed the white-robed teenager in the blink of an eye and then passed Zhu You Cai and Flame Fiends’ Progenitor. As for Su Ming, a feeling of being burned instantly drowned all of his senses. With it, intense pain shot through him. That pain of being burned was immediately split into six parts. Once it was shared equally among all, the Resentful Wei beneath Su Ming became faster again.

Su Ming knew that the others could maintain the average speed to move forward through the black flames, but he could not, because the other people’s bodies were real and were formed by their cultivation bases, but his body was formed by a supreme treasure. Since it was bound to be damaged, then between the injuries he would suffer by rushing out of the sea of fire at full strength and the injuries he would have to bear by moving forward at uniform speed, he would choose the former!

As he was rushing out, his body burned and dried up, but the Resentful Wei beneath him was like a bolt of lightning that surpassed the white-robed teenager, Zhu You Cai, and Flame Fiends’ Progenitor. Once it did so, the Resentful Wei crashed straight into an invisible barrier hidden in the flames.

With a bang, a powerful rebound shot out of the invisible barrier. That rebound attacked Su Ming’s body and was immediately shared between him and the other five. At that moment, he activated Ecang’s presence in his body and even summoned his Ecang clone to fuse together with him, making the body’s power reach its absolute peak. Once the Resentful Wei crashed into the barrier again, a loud bang that shook the sea of fire around them spread out, and the invisible barrier shattered swiftly. The Resentful Wei rushed out!

Right behind him was Zhu You Cai, Flame Fiends’ Progenitor, and the white-robed teenager, but they also had to face the invisible barrier. That barrier closed up incredibly quickly, and unless they acted at the same time, then in the span of a few breaths, it would close up and heal. Those behind would then still have to face the barrier’s obstruction.

As booming sounds echoed from the barrier, the Resentful Wei jumped out, and Su Ming’s body shot out of the sea of fire. He appeared in the area above the platform.

He saw Huang Mei and Zi Long and noticed that their gazes were focused completely on him at that moment. He also saw a vague smile at the corners of Zi Long’s lips as well as the crease between Huang Mei’s brows.

Su Ming did not have time to think about it too much. Once he rushed out, he immediately descended on the platform. The Resentful Wei looked the same as usual, but a large amount of burns had appeared on the body Su Ming controlled. He sucked in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and circulated his cultivation base. At the same time, Xuan Shang, Yun You, Nian Yin, and Hua Yu sighed and relaxed from the highly-strung state they were in previously. They started making the best use of their time by repairing their own bodies.

Xu Hui might not have said a single word since the start, but in truth, the worry in her heart was naturally much greater than that of Xuan Shang and his group. When she saw that Su Ming was well, her mind was set at ease, and she started circulating her cultivation base to heal herself.

Because of it, the body Su Ming controlled, which was originally in an incredibly pathetic state, started healing rapidly before Huang Mei and Zi Long’s eyes. The flames on the body disappeared, the burn marks faded away, and with just a few breaths, most of the body was already healed.

However, Su Ming knew that this was just what was shown on the surface. In truth, the body formed by the supreme treasure had suffered some damage that could not be healed. He did not know for how long it could continue maintaining this form, but clearly, it would not be for too long.

This item had been created by a Sublime Paragon. If it was not for this supreme treasure, even with his Ecang clone, it would have been difficult for Su Ming to last for so long in the black flames. Besides, he was not fast enough, which would have made it difficult for him to enter the fifth kiln. Unless, of course, his Ecang clone had become stronger. Then perhaps he would have been able to do it.

He might have taken advantage of his current situation and added the Resentful Wei’s speed into the mix to be able to enter, but even if he was taking advantage of his circumstances, as long as he could enter the fifth kiln, it was all that mattered!

When Su Ming opened his eyes, he saw Reverend Zi Long nodding towards him with a faint smile. As for the yellow-browed man, he let out a cold snort, but did not say a single thing.

A barely noticeable glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. These two people’s attitudes towards him had changed, and it was clearly different from how they regarded him when they were outside. There had to be reasons he did not know behind this.

As he thought about it, intense bangs shot out from the sea of fire above him. They rang out one after another, and several bangs later, Flame Fiends’ Progenitor became the first to rush out. Behind him was Zhu You Cai, and the last was the white-robed teenager.

When these three people landed on the platform, they lifted their heads to look at the sea of fire above them. There was lingering fear in their gazes. The three of them looked incredibly pathetic. Clearly, even with their levels of cultivation, the journey through the destructive flames had been incredibly strenuous.

Once these three people looked at the sea of fire above them, all of them looked at Su Ming at the same time. There was a grave look on their faces, along with a hint of surprise. This was the first time they truly acknowledged Su Ming’s existence. They had previously made a few vague guesses in their heads, but in truth, they did not pay too much attention to him. They only thought that all those who could come to this place would not be too weak.

Yet once they experienced the trial just then, Su Ming used his actions to show that he had the right to be regarded with importance by these three people.

“You are a Flame Fiend, but you didn’t manage to arrive before us. Instead, you let a cultivator get ahead of you!” Huang Mei cast Flame Fiends’ Progenitor a look before he sighed.

Flame Fiends’ Progenitor rolled his eyes before narrowing them. A fierce glare shone in them, but he did not say anything.

‘They were gambling just now!’ Su Ming’s expression was calm, but a thought had formed in his mind.

‘Yellow eyebrows chose Flame Fiends’ Progenitor, and Reverend Zi Long… chose me!’

Su Ming swept his gaze across them. When he looked towards Reverend Zi Long, a hint of surprise appeared in the man’s eyes. However, it quickly turned into praise and he nodded. Clearly, he had managed to tell what Su Ming was thinking based on his gaze, and he knew that Su Ming had managed to guess what had happened.

Su Ming’s heart stilled and he once again felt that while these people’s appearances varied, all of them were farsighted and scheming people. The yellow-browed man’s words might have made him seem as if he was grumbling just then, but in truth, it was a form of sowing discord between them.

The white-robed teenager cast a profound look at Su Ming before walking next to Reverend Zi Long. He lifted his right hand and swung it forward. Immediately, the space distorted, and the catwoman’s figure manifested from within. Her face was still as apathetic as ever. The white-robed teenager moved towards her and bit down on her neck to begin sucking her blood. Several breaths later, he lifted his head. There was still blood at the corners of his lips, but the injuries on his body had healed slightly during that short moment.

He then put away the catwoman. Once he sat down cross-legged, he closed his eyes and began meditating. Zhu You Cai chose to meditate a bit farther away as well. As for Flame Fiends’ Progenitor, he crouched down on Zhu You Cai’s body. Occasionally, he would look towards Su Ming, and a ferocious smile would appear on his lips.

“Alright, we’ll rest here for several days. When the black flames in the world outside have finished erupting and the flames in the kiln disperse, we’ll be able to enter the kiln,” the yellow-browed man said calmly, sat down by the side, picked up his gourd, and began drinking.

Reverend Zi Long’s expression became indifferent once again. When he sat down, he closed his eyes. The area instantly became quiet, and as the sea of fire tumbled beyond the platform, the lingering echoes of the booming sounds from the flames occasionally reached their ears.

“Su…”

At the instant Su Ming closed his eyes, he heard an indistinct voice hidden in the booms ringing in the space around him.

That voice drifted about and echoed in the area.

At the instant that voice spoke, all the people opened their eyes.